This invention relates to pessaries and more particularly to pessaries of specialized shape for use by gynecologists in treating uterine and/or vaginal prolapse.
In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of women afflicted with uterine and/or vaginal prolapse due in part to the increase in the population of middle aged and older women. In many cases it is inadvisable to correct such conditions in women by surgery because of a variety of reasons including the age of the patient, her generally poor physical condition, or for psychological reasons. In such cases the treatment requires the use of a mechanical support in the form of a pessary which provides an artificial perineal support. There are a number of prolapsus pessaries known and used in the art, and they are available in a variety of shapes, caliber, and materials. But for the most part they are characterized by a free-form, generally rigid configuration. Because the physical structure and type, as well as the degree of prolapse, varies from one individual to another, the insertion of a prior art pessary usually necessitates tests using a number of devices of varying shapes and caliber. For the gynecologist often overloaded with work, such a trial and error method presents disadvantages and for the patient the required procedure tends to be uncomfortable and at least inconvenient.